Share this:

Like this:

Sundays have become designated bath nights. It’s my opportunity to exfoliate and shave and scrub my feet and anything else that 5 minutes in the shower doesn’t allow. It’s also a great opportunity to chill, relax and meditate. The first week I just soaked for 30 minutes. The second week I washed my face and exfoliated before my soak. Tomorrow will be my third week of having a Sunday night bath and I will then follow my exfoliation with a face mask.

I have tried many, many face masks and most of them either sting, burn or dry my skin out. However, I have discovered two that I really get on well with and one of them is my all time favourite. They happen to both be by Origins.

My favourite is Out Of Trouble. It is white cream and is incredibly soothing on red, inflamed, spotty skin. I love the smell, it reminds me of a 1970s fist aid box. When I have really bad red spots, it not only soothes but I find it brings the spot to the surface quicker.

I also like Clear Improvement. It is not as good as Out Of Trouble but it is better suited to the T-Zone. That’s the areas like the nose, chin and forehead. I like to use both masks at the same time in different zones to get the best results.

Like my Liz Earle products these items are to be financed by my PayPal profits from eBay. I think I have a little Clear Improvement left so soon I will have to buy new face masks.

Share this:

Like this:

NEW HABIT: Budget for a Spring spa visit with treatments & budget for it

Part of my bigger plan is to have 4 spa visits a year. I would like one for my birthday in January, one for my boyfriend’s birthday in April, one in the Summer before a holiday and one in Autumn with my mum and sister. At each visit I would like to have an exfoliating treatment, a massage and a facial. In Spring and Summer I would like a pedicure as well, so I have nice painted nails for sandals.

We like visiting Nirvana Spa in Berkshire. It is one of the nicest day spas in the country. It’s a shame it doesn’t have a hotel. That would really be the icing on the cake.

To have everything I want for the Spring Spa Day I have to budget about £450. Luckily this Christmas I received a Spa day voucher and £100 towards treatments from my boss so I didn’t have to save up so much money. Today I booked our spa visit. The itinerary is really full and exciting.

Start 8:30am

Breakfast

11am- African Baobab Ritual (exfoliation & massage)

12.30pm- Personalised Spa Facial

3:00pm- Vegan Afternoon Tea

6:00pm- J-GELeration Pedicure

7:15pm- Healthy Buffet

We have never had such a full day with so much on offer but planning and budgeting has finally made it possible, and I wish it to be an annual event. I will blog next week about my visit to the Chiropodist. I feel I have to do that before having a professional pedicure. I’m concerned I may have some nail infections.

“I will budget for a Spring Spa Day for my boyfriend’s birthday in April and budget for it and treatments including exfoliation, a massage, a facial and a pedicure”

I must say, it is very, very late in the day for me to introduce this habit. I’m 46 and I think I’m already in the peri-menopausal stage. I get hot flashes and the gaps between my periods are increasing. Never mind though, one less tampon in landfill or the water system can only be a good thing.

I bought my first Mooncup about a year ago. At first, I struggled with it. Inserting it was surprisingly easy and I was happy with that part but I found it often leaked. I certainly improved the situation for myself when I stopped pulling it out and letting the contents out down the toilet at the same time. That was messy! Now I carefully remove it and empty the contents down the sink. I’m not really sure why it leaks. Sometimes it leaks and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s also really awkward when the sink isn’t in the same room as the toilet, like in public places. If I need to wash it out, I need to be very discrete. My friend suggested bringing a water bottle in with me but why does it have to be so awkward as having to do that?

Anyhow, I think I have very few periods left in me so I may as well make the ethical choice that I can. I have tampons and pads from the True Food Cooperative as an easy option if really necessary

“I will use my menstrual cup instead of tampons”

Share this:

Like this:

Day 109 and I’m struggling to think up new habits. This is a good sign. It means I’m finally doing all the things I want to do to be a happier person. Now it’s just a matter of honing them and levelling up where possible. I still have a lot to come, what with my exercise and food habits but that’s all planned out and I’ll blog about them as and when.

As I’m struggling to come up with new habits I think it’s time I fill the gaps in between the current ones. Perfecting them and not leaving any moment wasted. I’m concluding that I should only need 1 hour a day to chill with Netflix, a cup of tea and a small chocolate bar but every other moment of the day needs to be productive and conscientious. The need to zone out and eat something crappy needs to be focused to that one hour a day. That will leave the other 23 hours maximised to the optimum.

So I previously said I’m looking to include 3 types of exercise; flexibility, cardio & strength-training. After reading an interesting article saying that interval training has a much bigger impact on age-reversal than strength-training, I’m going to add HIIT or interval training to my list. I may even make a weekly swim my 5th and final category.

Yesterday, I cemented my habits for flexibility. I’m committed to doing 5 yoga and pilates classes a week. I did a yoga class yesterday and once again, I was horrified at the fat girl starring back at me from the mirror. It made me think again about my urge for weight-loss and increased steppage and burning calories. It’s inspired me to get running again. The article also says running and walking are good for age reversal too. Now I have a new smartphone, I can track my runs on Fitbit and Strava, providing intense motivation and competition with myself.

I want to do ParkRun again. The last time I did it my time was about 49 mins and I was second to last. This just isn’t good enough for me. I want a sub 45 before I go back to the park. Besides, ParkRun starts at 9am on a Saturday and I have a yoga class at 10am. I envisage myself completing ParkRun with enough time to get to class by 10am.

So my first cardio habit is going to be completing a 5k every Saturday morning. ParkRun is my goal but for now I will just repeatedly run a 5k on the street until I consider my time is good enough. I really want to repeat a route on Strava because it automatically awards trophies and PBs and I’ll enjoy that.

This evening I plan to go out for a walk to find my 5k. I have a route in mind from when I ran 5-6 years ago. I will walk it again to check the distance and log my first time for the route. The plan thereafter, is to just keep doing the route every week to see if I can get faster. I don’t enjoy running on the treadmill at the gym because I get scared or bored. I may add another 5k in the week to provide me with two cardio sessions a week and then I will look at two spinning classes a week and some interval training in the park to cover that category. It’s all a long way off.

I’ve just logged into MapMyFitness and have been looking back at my runs from 2014/2015.

This is the the 5k route I’m going to revisit tonight and my fastest time I managed back in 2014. It will be interesting to see if I can ever achieve it again?

My gym includes premium membership to MapMyFitness, which is a bonus.

Update: I’ve just been out for an hour’s walk to check the route I have planned and it is indeed 5k. Here’s my initial stats as a base start. I fast walked the 5k.

“I will walk or run a 5k route every Saturday morning aiming for a sub 45 so I can do ParkRun again”

Like this:

I joined the gym two weeks ago and have done something there nearly everyday. They have classes there too so I have been trying out different ones to see what I like and can fit in. I’ve tried yoga, pilates, stretch & tone, Buti yoga and spinning. I particularly like the yoga and pilates so I want to make them my first gym habits I’ll commit to. There is 2 yoga and 2 pilates classes and a Buti yoga session. If I attend them all, it means I’m doing yoga & pilates 5 days a week. I swear this week I have done 50 or more downward facing dogs.

When I have fantasised about having exercise in my life, I’ve always imagined a balance or cardio, strength building and flexibility. The 5 classes I now attend tick the flexibility box very nicely. My yoga efforts now have been the worse I’ve ever seen them because I’m older and haven’t done it for a long time but I can already feel my balance and flexibility is improving in two weeks. With 5 classes a week, I could get really good which I’ve never achieved before.

Buti yoga is a more energetic yoga, almost like dance moves. Pilates is very much focused on engaging weak muscles. Yoga is about holding and perfecting different positions.

I like these classes so much and believe I can become accomplished. I’m already fantasising about buying nice outfits for these classes but I have to lose weight before I spend money on new clothes.

I plan to blog about my cardio and strength training habits soon. They will compliment the flexibility habits when I’ve decided what they will be.

“I will attend all 5 yoga & pilates classes every week at the gym whenever possible”

Like this:

Two days ago I wrote about my frustrations with my menu plan or lack there of and the disappointment in those I’ve tried. I have had 48 hours to think about what it is I need to successfully overcome all my disorganisation and confusion about what to eat, to be healthy and lose weight.

This is my plan broken down into manageable tasks:

Use up or throw out unwanted food

Clean and organise kitchen cupboards

Create a 12 week meal plan with recipes that are mostly healthy, enjoyable and easy to prepare using my favourite food diary

Create recipe cards so creating shopping lists is easy

Have a list of staple foods used regularly and keep replenished

Follow the 12 week menu plan and at the second cycle, improve the recipes or meals if I am not losing weight or they are too challenging to execute

I am taking this approach because my world of food is just the same as all the other areas of my life I’m trying to improve. It just takes the creation of good habits to sustain success.

“I will use up or throw away unwanted food. I will clean and organise the kitchen. I will create a 12 week meal plan. For each recipe I will create a flashcard with the ingredients. I will use these to quickly write my shopping list”